The Audio Genre Development Foundation
. . . designing for the "first organ". . .
Spring 2008 Request For Proposals
Deadline: Apr. 21, 2008.
Person or Organization Submitting Proposal
____________________________________
[ ]Grant Proposal
[ ]Loan Proposal
- Project Category (Check One):
- -----A.[ ] Audio Broadcast or Podcast
- -----B.[ ] Portable Audio
- -----C.[ ] Audio Installation
- -----D.[ ] Other (Specify) ___________________________________
- Total Amount Requested $_______________
Reply To:
James S. Lee, Ph.DDirector
The Audio Genre Development Foundation
130 Nelson Street
Durham, NC 27707
PRINT ENTIRE DOCUMENT FOR REFERENCE.
SUBMIT THE PART ABOVE THIS LINE AS A PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
The Audio Genre Development Foundation
The Audio Genre Development Foundation (AGDF) is
a fictitious organization created to encourage the development of innovative
approaches to audio art and radio programming. The AGDF makes
"grants" of up to $500,000 in support of the development and delivery
of audio productions intended for both mass simultaneous distribution
and localized presentation. The Foundation encourages submissions that
push the envelope of creativity and provide unique or unusual
experiences for the audience. Grants are made for free public
presentations or for innovative uses of existing media to solve
problems, promote democratization of cultural production, force a
rethinking of media roles, present audio material in unique ways, or
help define audio art.
The AGDF is not a lending institution and has little interest in offering start-up money for business ventures unless such ventures are so unique as to demand special consideration. Persons applying to the AGDF for a loan must be prepared to submit a detailed business plan and identify some compelling artistic or social reason the project should be financed. Please read the following guidelines carefully before preparing your proposal.
The award money and the AGDF are both fictional. All other elements of the proposal, however, must be real or realistic. That is to say they must be both technologically and economically feasible. They must use existing technologies that have been accurately priced. No fictional elements may be introduced into the proposals. That means no volunteer celebrities, no undeveloped technologies, no fictional expertise, no nonexistent companies, no nonexistent venues. In other words the proposal must be based on real world conditions and research.
Writing AGDF Proposals
AGDF proposals must follow the format guidelines
outlined below. All material is to be typed or machine printed on
standard size 8 1/2
by 11 inch paper (printed on one side only). No hand written documents
will
be accepted. Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be
considered . Take some time to look over the Proposal
Writing Short Course presented by the Foundation Center . Proposals to the
Audio Genre Development Foundation should include at
least the following:
- A separate business letter from the applicant introducing h**self, briefly introducing the proposed project, and specifying the amount being requested. The letter must be signed, dated, and contain all relevant addresses.
- A completed cover sheet.
- A proposal narrative presenting the project in great detail. It should begin with an introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph should contain the name of the project, the nature of the proposed work, a profile of the intended audience, a description of the work, and a brief budget summary. Think of it as an abstract of the entire narrative that follows it. The remainder of the narrative should contain a detailed description of the proposed work, a profile of its intended audience, and a justification for the project or some statement identifying what makes the proposed work unique. A discussion of the genesis of the idea and its artistic/historical roots is always a plus. Describe your work in detail. Relate the proposed work to existing works if appropriate. Use the narrative to sell the idea of your project to the AGDF. The narrative should also contain an explanation of some of the key elements of the budget.
- A separate budget section detailing all items required to complete the proposed project. The budget should include equipment costs for either purchase or rental, personnel costs, any expendable materials, rentals or leases for performance or presentation spaces, royalties, air time and any other costs anticipated by the proposing party. In-kind costs should be included as well. In addition, the budget section should contain a budget narrative in which you explain or justify major expenditures. This is also the place to explain a choice to buy rather than rent or lease expensive equipment.
- A project schedule or timetable. When will you get started? How long will it take? When will the project be completed? What is the development sequence?
- A plan for evaluating the success of the project. What would constitute a success for the proposed project? Is it measurable? How? This would be a good place to talk about ways you might get audience feedback either directly or indirectly. If feedback is built into the project through audience participation and/or performance, specify the mechanism.
- A business plan. This is required only for Loan Proposals. The business plan should spell out projected revenue flows and include a schedule for repayment of the requested loan. Projected income from the project must be justified by some reference to existing market research. Unfounded projections will provide grounds for rejection of the proposal and the award of a failing grade.
- A supporting appendix. Here you might include diagrams, excerpts, script treatments, or any other material that is evidence of planning and supportive of the project.
- A reference appendix. This proposal is, after all, an academic exercise. The reference section must be annotated. Identify all the sources you use in gathering information for your proposal and specify what information you got from those sources. If you use Internet resources, give the URL or FTP address. Bibliographic resources must be cited in standard MLA or APA format. Interviews and conversations with professionals in the field may be included but they should never be your sole source of information. Provide the date, time, and circumstances of any such conversations. Personal conversations may not used as the source of pricing information except when the interviewee is the actual vendor. Nothing else in the proposal should reflect the fact that this is a class exercise.
- Mail or hand deliver proposals to the
Foundation's address. All proposals must be received on or before the
deadline. If you are mailing the proposal, allow for postal delays. If
you are hand delivering the proposal, seal it in an envelop suitable
for mailiing.
Project Categories
A. Audio Broadcasting or Podcasting.
Submissions in this category must be for audio
programs intended to reach a specified relatively large audience at a
specified frequency of presentation. The AGDF will support programs of
any designated length to
be podcast or broadcast on any schedule and designed to reach any size
of mass
audience. The scope of the project is at the discretion of the
submitting party. Applicants should identify the intended audience for
the program and describe the proposed program in detail. Any kind of
program is supportable. It may be helpful to
think in terms of having access to a large audience of your choosing
and the
resources to produce and deliver the audio production of your choice.
What
would you do? Remember that submissions in this category must be
designed to reach some specified audience through a mass audio medium.
Normally this means radio and therefore simultaneous reception.
Nevertheless other avenues of distribution are possible and recognized
by the AGDF. Thus, things like cable radio, satellite radio, internet
streaming audio, or podcasting
would be an acceptable means of distribution.
B. Portable Audio
The AGDF would also consider the production and mass distribution of interesting and innovative audio material in some portable format such as CD's, Minidisks, Cassettes, SD cards, audio throwaways or whatever. This could include the development or adaptation of personal listening devices (or content for such devices) for unique purposes. The AGDF has very little interest in helping bands release CDs.C. Audio Installation.
Submissions in this category must be for
localized presentations to limited audiences. It is generally expected
that the intended audience be required to go to the presentation rather
than have the presentation go to the audience. Proposals in this
category must have audio as the major component. Nevertheless other
media and artifacts can be built into the
presentation. In this category the artist is assumed to have greater
(if
not complete) control over the acoustic environment of the audience.
There
is no particular premium on scale. Smaller installations and huge
public
presentations are equally valued by the AGDF.